SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

With fewer than eight weeks to go to the opening of the 2021 CIBJO Congress on November 1, 2021, the first of this year’s CIBJO commissions’ Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Marketing & Education Commission, headed by Jonathan Kendall, the report looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the jewellery and gemstone industry, and how the way in which it has adapted will chart its course for the future.

“[W]e have all lived through what have certainly been some of the toughest times for humanity since World War II,” Mr. Kendall writes in his introduction to the report. “COVID has significantly impacted all of us and our ways of living. But as a society in general, and as a business community more specifically, we have learnt to adapt to the new normal. Video conferencing and non-face-to-face selling are now standardly used, leading to a massive rise in Internet sales and an ever more intense focus on social media marketing.

The report focuses extensively on environmental responsibility. “Already today we are witnessing the devastating impacts of increasingly unstable climates. The consequences of even more extreme temperature increases are difficult to contemplate,” Mr. Kendall writes.

“The world’s rapid response to what ultimately is a lesser long-term threat – COVID 19 – is indicative what we as members of humanity can achieve when we come together,” he continues. “It is clear that if we can keep the temperature-warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we can avoid some of the most serious outcomes. It is not too late to decarbonize and invest in a green future, but it is so important that we collectively make real changes now.”

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Market & Education Commission’s special report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2021 annual congress virtually during the first and third weeks of November, from Monday, November 1 through Thursday, November 4, and then from Monday, November 15 through Thursday, November 18.

The congress will be conducted on the new Zoom Events platform, which allows congress delegates to mingle and interact in a common area, between and during formal meetings.

The November sessions are being timed to enable optimal attendance by delegates linking in from multiple time zones, and thus only one or two will be held on any given day, for not more than two and half hours in total. The proceedings will be recorded, so that those delegates who may be unable participate live will be able to review a session after the event.

Certain of the congress sessions, including the Opening Ceremony, will open to public participation, and registration for them will begin on October 1, 2021. Other sessions will be by invitation only.

CIBJO congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation’s global membership, and are also the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO’s sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation’s definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals, coral and responsible sourcing, known as the Blue Books.

The CIBJO Congress is also where the programme of World Jewellery Confederation Education Foundation (WJCEF), relating to responsible and sustainable activities in the industry and CIBJO’s ongoing cooperation with the United Nations and its development programme is reported upon.

“We would have been delighted to hold an in-person event, but ultimately felt that under current conditions a virtual congress is the safer alternative, allowing the participation of the greatest number of delegates,” explained CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri. “Fortunately, we have over the past 18 months become quite experienced in running virtual events, and as a result CIBJO’s work has continued unabated. There is a great deal to report and discuss, not least of which is how our industry is being impacted and changed by the COVID pandemic. It will be a fascinating congress.”